GEDCOM privacy utilities

Does anyone know of a program I can use to "privatize" my GEDCOM files in
the same way as the Roots Web system? I.e., removing the given name (or
changing it to "Living"); preserving the family name; removing all vital
dates and places; and preserving the gender and family relationships.

myths...

That doesn't give much privacy.

Example:

My g-g-g-grandfather's first cousin left England for Canada around
1784 with his new wife and the first of their many children.

Many of his descendants
a) gave their children unusual names
b) married into families that now include web-posters.

So an evening's work on the net gave me a fairly good guess at a tree
for my g-g-g-grandfather's descendants, taking a little bit here and a
little bit there.

In some cases, the tree constructors left out all living members, in
others they did as you detail above, giving the reader
surname/maiden-surname combinations.

The result is that I had little difficulty in "placing" members of
that line with whom I have been in contact, or who appear on forums

myths...

In one case, the sibling structure was also handy.

etc. Useful though this is for me, I feel it is undesirable.

Dennis Lee Bieber...

Ugh... Personally, if you are going to replace given names with a
generic "living" I feel you might as well totally remove the entry.

I've had a few situations where /I/ have given names (coming up from
one end of the tree), and encounter a GEDCOM coming down the other way
that MIGHT relate -- but with all the names set to "Living" I can't link
to anyone...

With given names, I could at least link to the new tree

All the GEDCOM utilities ones I've seen go too far for my taste, i.e., they
remove the family name as well as the given names.

D. Stussy...

1) Check your genealogy database program. The one I use gives the option of
complete removal, or removal leaving the names behind.

2) If you like what rootsweb does, why not just upload and let their filter go
to work? Note that unless you change it, their filter uses 1930 as the cutoff.
That may not protect your older, living family members. I suggest using 1900.

Note that there are some people who may object to ANY reference (including
those that state "living "). Do your relatives know what you're
planning?

Hugh Watkins...

family tree maker

from file menu

Hugh W

Robert Rosenbaum rdr713@comcast.net
San Francisco, Cal.